"CFL roster sizes are 46 players (rather than 53 as in the NFL, though only 45 will dress for a game). A CFL team may dress up to 44 players comprising 21 "nationals" (essentially, Canadians), 20 "internationals" (almost exclusively Americans), and 3 quarterbacks."

Sources: The AAF will suspend all football operations today. New owner Tom Dundon will lose approximately $70 million on his investment. Dundon makes decision against wishes of league co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian.

Sources: The AAF will suspend all football operations today. New owner Tom Dundon will lose approximately $70 million on his investment. Dundon makes decision against wishes of league co-founders Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian.

I haven't seen anyone else connect these dots, but I think the timing of this has to do with the NFL owner's meeting that just concluded.

I think Mr. Here's-Money-I'm-Chairman-Now Tom Dundon expected the NFL to embrace the AAF immediately, and that it was going to happen at the owner's meeting. When that didn't materialize, that's when we got the "union needs to give us practice squad players or WE DIE" nonsense, and now this unilaterally-imposed suspension. I think he wanted to play this on a much shorter timeframe than is realistic.

The AAF won't have put anyone back into NFL camps until, y'know, NFL camps happen again. A completed season + postseason followed by players getting camp invites, and NFL teams seeing development out of those players, would have greatly strengthened the AAF's potential standing with the league.

The AAF needed to deliver before there was going to be any realistic shot at an NFL relationship. I think Dundon wanted a much more immediate return on investment than was reasonable.

What is clear is that this is entirely Dundon's doing, and there is some recurring speculation about funny business:

Stupid and amateurish seems to be right on the money. Either that, or it was purely about pillaging technology from the venture.

My working theory right now is that it was a little of column "A" and a little of column "B". He either wanted movement towards a relationship with the NFL immediately, or he'd take what he can out of the league and scoot.

By every reasonable measure, the league was doing as well as anyone should have expected. The AAF's TV market was growing over the course of the season, not cratering, leading to both CBS Sports and TNT picking up more games. People were buying tickets and showing up to the games, building back upwards after the inevitable drop after the first couple of weeks. The Arena League operated for many years at attendance figures (and cable TV ratings) well below the AAF's. It's hard to look at those and see the league as being at a crisis point.

What's weird is that there was some movement towards a relationship with the NFL, if a couplearticles at CBS Sports are to be believed, echoing some of what's been floating around on Twitter:

It feels like a rash, ridiculous attempt to try and play hardball with the NFL. The USFL had Trump, I guess the AAF has their own league-killing jackass. But this one's worse. The USFL was going to war with the NFL and wasn't going to win. This was a minor league looking for a relationship with the NFL, and then committed suicide while the NFL was legitimately talking about a partnership.

The fact that both the NFL league office and NFLPA were open to some kind of partnership makes ending like this so awful. They just needed to finish the season, and then they would have had months to talk with the NFL and work out a plan for the future.

Even if they couldn't make it work before next season, at least they would have taken the opportunity they had.

It was successful on TV, it was successful in ticket sales, and it was successful in being legitimate enough to get the NFL talking to them. It was pretty much the minor league start-up season dream scenario, and then the one guy who could made them commit suicide.

I have zero faith the XFL will become a legitimate developmental league. I see zero chance the NFL wants anything to do with Vince McMahon, and I don't think McMahon sees it as a goal to pursue in the first place.

On behalf of the Iron coaching staff and players we want to thank all the fans who supported us for the eight game season and second place finish in the East. The fortune thing was our five home games occurred before this ridiculous ending to the season. From our hard hitting, number one in points allowed defense, to the running of Trent Richardson, and our special specialist laden special teams, we were a close knit family football team. A team made much like the city itself, tough as steel. Thanks again BHAM for allowing us into your city. Go Iron. Rick Minter Def Coordinator

In good news, Luis Perez signed by the Eagles. I hope they can clean up his decision making - the poorly chosen throws when under pressure are the main thing holding him back imo.

I don't get it, what is wrong with the times? They look mostly like an hour off of the regular NFL times and don't seem that unusual to me. Is it because they are both Saturday and Sunday and no one is going to bother spending their whole weekend watching these games?